Hong Kong is poised to play an invaluable role in sustainable development by capitalising on its strengths in green finance given mainland China’s status as a leader in advanced green technologies, a top American economist has said.
Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor and director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, also said on Thursday that the Greater Bay Area was superior to Silicon Valley. Beijing should also speed up the internationalisation of the renminbi, he said.
“The role of Hong Kong in sustainable development is becoming central for the whole world,” Sachs said at an event hosted by the newly formed Hong Kong Association for External Friendship, a non-governmental organisation.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by all of its member states in 2015, are a set of 17 global targets aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030.
Sachs said China had a unique role to play in driving sustainable development as it was the world’s largest industrial nation and the “lowest-cost producer” of advanced green and digital technology.
Hong Kong’s role, in turn, was to provide the financing needed and serve as a bridge that connected the world through bond issuances, listings and finding business partners.
